John Turner, a 38-year-old Newark native, drove 17 hours from Chicago to the storm-ravaged Garden State last week.

On Nov. 4, he bought several scratch-off lottery tickets at a New Jersey convenience store. Turns out, one of them was a $100,000 winner, the CBS affiliate in New York reported.

Turner didn't think it was real, but state lottery officials confirmed the win.

"We are very grateful that John has given his time and skills to help the people dealing with the challenges brought on by Sandy," New Jersey's lottery director said in a statement as reported by Yahoo! News, "and that New Jersey is giving a memorable thank you back to him."

Turner will get $70,000 after taxes. He plans to invest the money in his business and a local church, and to donate some to a local family in need, the ABC affiliate in Chicago reported.